Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[jackattack]

- how much do you pay per night (if anything)? $35 USD
- what do you get for your money? What amenities/benefits (other than camping at the ski hill)? front row parking
- how is it regulated (do you tell the main office you're camping, is there a camping attendant who monitors camping and collects money? purchase must be made in advance online, verified each morning
- is there many folks at your hill that take advantage of the opportunity to overnight? yes, most weekends, but rarely sells out
- anything on your wish list with regards to your ski hill overnight parking sitch? Electrical hookups would be a benefit to reduce generator use, but not likely. ski area parking lots are not the most peaceful sleeping environment. If you overnight lot is offsite and not impacted by grooming noise, then investing in electrical might be worthwhile.

[toastybroski]

- how much do you pay per night (if anything)? $35 USD
- what do you get for your money? What amenities/benefits (other than camping at the ski hill)? front row parking
- how is it regulated (do you tell the main office you're camping, is there a camping attendant who monitors camping and collects money? purchase must be made in advance online, verified each morning
- is there many folks at your hill that take advantage of the opportunity to overnight? yes, most weekends, but rarely sells out
- anything on your wish list with regards to your ski hill overnight parking sitch? Electrical hookups would be a benefit to reduce generator use, but not likely. ski area parking lots are not the most peaceful sleeping environment. If you overnight lot is offsite and not impacted by grooming noise, then investing in electrical might be worthwhile.

To be fair I think I would have a very different opinion if I didn't live on a steep hill and had some flat land/tall garage to store it in. For now it's asking friends to store it at their place or using a storage facility which last time I used one flooded and ripped out the support jacks when the ground shifted.

Plus trying to get it on and off on uneven ground when I only have an inch of clearance when the jacks are completely maxed out is no fun.

[cat in january]

1. 0$

2. None

3. No regulation

4. 4-12 units on weekends

5. Porta potty

[Trackhead]

I know you've asked for people with regrets. I have to pipe in that I've been so happy with my 2500 (diesel)/camper setup. Get tons of use winter and summer and my wife and I have it down to about 15 minutes (tops) to get it on the truck and secure. It has made my life better.

On another note - we just formed an overnight camping committee and I was wondering if I could bug you guys for some beta on your on-hill camping situation. Specifically:
- how much do you pay per night (if anything)?
- what do you get for your money? What amenities/benefits (other than camping at the ski hill)?
- how is it regulated (do you tell the main office you're camping, is there a camping attendant who monitors camping and collects money?
- is there many folks at your hill that take advantage of the opportunity to overnight?
- anything on your wish list with regards to your ski hill overnight parking sitch?

Thanks in advance guys!

We considered a van a while back but already had a truck camper and paid off low mileage truck. We also lived in AK and used truck to pull big boat. I loathed taking camper off/on, and agree it’s a pain. My DIY camper lives on my truck. I prefer that. It is also light and unnoticeable.

[toastybroski]

We considered a van a while back but already had a truck camper and paid off low mileage truck. We also lived in AK and used truck to pull big boat. I loathed taking camper off/on, and agree it’s a pain. My DIY camper lives on my truck. I prefer that. It is also light and unnoticeable.

I think I would like to keep it permanently on and buy a beater truck for house work crap. I just find it hard to justify a really nice truck with a payment and never using it outside of a dozen times a year. (which is funny since that would be the exact same scenario with a van.)

I also think build quality for some TC's is trash and Im constantly looking for leaks and issues.

[crashidy]

I know you've asked for people with regrets. I have to pipe in that I've been so happy with my 2500 (diesel)/camper setup. Get tons of use winter and summer and my wife and I have it down to about 15 minutes (tops) to get it on the truck and secure. It has made my life better.

On another note - we just formed an overnight camping committee and I was wondering if I could bug you guys for some beta on your on-hill camping situation. Specifically:
- how much do you pay per night (if anything)?
- what do you get for your money? What amenities/benefits (other than camping at the ski hill)?
- how is it regulated (do you tell the main office you're camping, is there a camping attendant who monitors camping and collects money?
- is there many folks at your hill that take advantage of the opportunity to overnight?
- anything on your wish list with regards to your ski hill overnight parking sitch?

Thanks in advance guys!

Hey Gary,
Check out what silver star is doing. I'm in the truck camper group and have zero regrets. Wife. Kid and a dog.

3,2,1... Camping.

I've used silver star in summer both for tent and camper. They have a couple sites with plug in and a few portapotties.

Not sure if they run camping in winter

Winter we do lake Louise or fernie often and will do the campgrounds for toilet and shower access. I don't keepnwater on board during winter. Too many damn temperature fluctuations here.

I'd be happy to spend 20 bucks for a place to part and some access to a toilet and water.

[pfluffenmeister]

Just got done doing my first two nights sleeping in parking lots (Wanker Park).

Heading to Steamboat for the storm.

Damn I love my van.

[Gerome]

I think I would like to keep it permanently on and buy a beater truck for house work crap. I just find it hard to justify a really nice truck with a payment and never using it outside of a dozen times a year. (which is funny since that would be the exact same scenario with a van.)

I also think build quality for some TC's is trash and Im constantly looking for leaks and issues.

I envision a nice Sprinter van as a reward to achieving some kind of financial goal, but by the time I actually pay off the mortgage or pay for the kids college, I think I’d rather buy a sailboat than a van. Yeah, the truck mostly sits unused, but it’s a paid off hand me down. And I worry about the camper leaking while it’s temporarily stored in Tahoe, but I’m constantly dreaming about the next festival, ski trip or adventure to go on next. So I definitely don’t regret it.

I regret that I have to street park it at my home since my driveway is too narrow. And it’s terrifying to load or unload if the ground isn’t level. And it bugs me how many accessories it takes to get it right: e rated tires, torklift, rubber bed mat, stairs, trailer hitch extender…


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[Huskier]

I envision a nice Sprinter van as a reward to achieving some kind of financial goal, but by the time I actually pay off the mortgage or pay for the kids college, I think I’d rather buy a sailboat than a van. Yeah, the truck mostly sits unused, but it’s a paid off hand me down. And I worry about the camper leaking while it’s temporarily stored in Tahoe, but I’m constantly dreaming about the next festival, ski trip or adventure to go on next. So I definitely don’t regret it.
…


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I'm honestly thinking of going reverse, selling the van and going for a nice full cap slide-in and a full-size truck. Trying to tow or haul shit in the sprinter is awkward and limiting and once you go past 2.5 humans and a dog vans of any size start getting real tight.

[Trackhead]

^^^funny we apparently all need a quiver of campers, bikes, skis

[Dromond]

I'm honestly thinking of going reverse, selling the van and going for a nice full cap slide-in and a full-size truck. Trying to tow or haul shit in the sprinter is awkward and limiting and once you go past 2.5 humans and a dog vans of any size start getting real tight.

His and hers vans with one for you and the dog!

Seriously reading about all of this it always sounds like the grass is greener on the other side. The only thing less green is your wallet!

[fastfred]

Just got done doing my first two nights sleeping in parking lots (Wanker Park).

Heading to Steamboat for the storm.

Damn I love my van.

Sounds about right before getting my van I thought it'd be a nice toy to have after the first trip my mind was blown it wasn't nice it's the greatest thing ever

Enjoy

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[Shredhead]

Except he’s going north and low, instead of south and high.

[pfluffenmeister]

Except he’s going north and low, instead of south and high.

I contemplated it, but north and low is free and I'm only ~8.5 months post-op ACL reconstruction.

+ Steamboats forecast has been trending closer to Wolf Creek as each day passes (WC is still the deepest though).

[Shredhead]

Good luck and gods speed!

[SchralphMacchio]

- how much do you pay per night (if anything)?
- what do you get for your money? What amenities/benefits (other than camping at the ski hill)?
- how is it regulated (do you tell the main office you're camping, is there a camping attendant who monitors camping and collects money?
- is there many folks at your hill that take advantage of the opportunity to overnight?
- anything on your wish list with regards to your ski hill overnight parking sitch?

Thanks in advance guys!

Fees - normally $45 dry / $65 electrical per night, but rates are much higher for special event/holiday weekends, as much as $100 dry / $150 electrical for the biggest weekend of the year - not including multi-night blocks required for all the big weekends!

Parking spots are front row - however the downside of that means being parked in without enough room to hook up and pull out for trailers/5ers until enough day skiers have left. There are coin operated showers in the main bathroom for the benefit of those who don't have RVs with water. Our resort has two decent lower mountain lifts that run until 9 PM 4 nights a week, which adds tremendous value to RV sites.

Online reservations and payment, dry sites are unassigned but electrical are assigned, there is a camping attendant who does check in / hang tags and stays overnight in the RV lot.

Electrical sites are basically full every weekend. Dry sites are usually full on big/holiday weekends but not full if weather is so-so on non-holiday weekends, I assume because many RV campers rely on the electrical hookups to maintain good heat overnight. The wait list for the seasonal program - where you get to book your sites at the start of the season - is probably like 10 years long. I should also note that the nearest towns and lodging to our two local hills are about 15-30 miles away, and there is no commercial on-mountain lodging.

I appreciate that my hill has an online reservation program. The software my hill uses is clunky, but it's better than not having a system at all! My biggest wishlist item is actually being able to have my own login and set up my profile (vehicle plates, length, etc) and payment info upfront, then make my bookings and be able to see all my reservations, modify them, etc. A little bit of credit toward future reservations for ones that are cancelled more than 72 hours out would also be rad, even if it's only $0.50 on the dollar. My hill as adopted a no refunds no modifications policy because demand is just so high. On the last Monday of the month they release all available spots for the following month to open reservation (the seasonal preferred campers get first reservation dibs around Thanksgiving). I kind of like the idea of how White Pass WA does it a little better - they release 50% of sites for advance booking in October, and then each Monday they release the other 50% of available sites for the rest of the week; this sort of balances the needs of people trying to plan trips in advance against the convenience for locals to come up on less notice. My hill tried a waitlist process but I think that became too cumbersome to manually manage because demand is so high. Demand for bookable RV sites seems pretty damn high all through the PNW, because resorts are located so far from gateway towns and services. Also weather is mostly mild here so it's way easier than say Idaho, Montana etc. Even at resorts that have reasonably close gateway towns (Bend for example), the on-mountain sites are still highly utilized and very costly. Speaking of Bachelor, I like that they have a designated off leash dog area, even if it's full of shit from asshole humans who refuse to watch their dogs and carry a baggie, because I think it's great to have a place for a dog to unwind off leash - that would be on my wish list for my local hill as well.

Good luck man!

[ma79f8]

Anyone else go down the truck camper route and regret it?

I feel like it is too much of a pain if you don't have much land/space and don't keep it on all the time. Having a 3/4 ton truck is way overkill and huge for my needs when it is off. I wish I had just kept my old truck and got a used van.

That said my 2500 and camper was less than a van so oh well.

We've put over 300,000 miles on our F-250 super duty diesel with a pop-up hallmark camper, over 23 years of ownership. It's been very reliable and perfect for what we have used it for, though we didn't do much skiing out of it. So I would have to say that we have never regretted going that route. But we recently bought a Revel van and I'm in the middle of a week+ ski loop through the San Juans and I can't say that I would ever go back. By the way, the Ford will soon be for sale in Golden CO if anyone here might be interested.

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[Trackhead]

We've put over 300,000 miles on our F-250 super duty diesel with a pop-up hallmark camper, over 23 years of ownership. It's been very reliable and perfect for what we have used it for, though we didn't do much skiing out of it. So I would have to say that we have never regretted going that route. But we recently bought a Revel van and I'm in the middle of a week+ ski loop through the San Juans and I can't say that I would ever go back. By the way, the Ford will soon be for sale in Golden CO if anyone here might be interested.

Hard to compare old technology with new. A new driving experience is almost always better. Quiet nimble diesel van vs loud, rumbling, old tech diesel.

[adrian.bee]

My take is every rig is going to be a compromise, there's no such thing as the perfect setup and depends so much on partners/dependents/life situations/activities.

That being said I'd imagine I'd be happy with a minimalist van if I was single.

[MakersTeleMark]

My take is every rig is going to be a compromise, there's no such thing as the perfect setup and depends so much on partners/dependents/life situations/activities.

Can I interest you in the amazing freedom and possibilities of fractional ownership?

[adrian.bee]

Can I interest you in the amazing freedom and possibilities of fractional ownership?

I will attend the seminar if it includes tickets to disney world

[oftpiste]

I envision no driveway to park in, out on my boat in the PNW in the warm months, and a van in warmer climes with an occasional snow adventure in the winter.

I envision a nice Sprinter van as a reward to achieving some kind of financial goal, but by the time I actually pay off the mortgage or pay for the kids college, I think I’d rather buy a sailboat than a van. Yeah, the truck mostly sits unused, but it’s a paid off hand me down. And I worry about the camper leaking while it’s temporarily stored in Tahoe, but I’m constantly dreaming about the next festival, ski trip or adventure to go on next. So I definitely don’t regret it.

[fastfred]

My take is every rig is going to be a compromise, there's no such thing as the perfect setup and depends so much on partners/dependents/life situations/activities.

That being said I'd imagine I'd be happy with a minimalist van if I was single.

pimp and single is the way to travel
25 mg deep on saturday in the desert is fun and happy

I envision a nice Sprinter van as a reward to achieving some kind of financial goal, but by the time I actually pay off the mortgage or pay for the kids college, I think I’d rather buy a sailboat than a van. Yeah, the truck mostly sits unused, but it’s a paid off hand me down. And I worry about the camper leaking while it’s temporarily stored in Tahoe, but I’m constantly dreaming about the next festival, ski trip or adventure to go on next. So I definitely don’t regret it.
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a van or any toy should be a reward for success or a hey a trust fund
mine was a reward for being told my body hates me and I got fucked over
thankfully my mortage is a few hundred bucks and I don't have kids to send to college
I think I got about 6k or more into the suspension on my van it drives like a dream

van shit it better than you think it will be like much much better

[pfluffenmeister]

You're right fastfred.
Muuuuch better than you think; or at least what I thought, and I thought it would pretty damn good.

Skied 9 days in 11 at WP and Steamboat.
And am now staged in Jackson Hole for the weather that may come.

[Trackhead]

You're right fastfred.
Muuuuch better than you think; or at least what I thought, and I thought it would pretty damn good.

Skied 9 days in 11 at WP and Steamboat.
And am now staged in Jackson Hole for the weather that may come.

Jackson is a tough place to “sleep in a parking lot”. I don’t want you to give away any secrets but that town always sees me end up in an RV park that is open in winter. Used to be wide open…spent a lot of nights out at Taggart for dawn patrol Teton laps but I think even that option is quite limited.